The Night Keeps Score - Halloween

moon hollow above the lake

Cold rain drips silver over down the pane

The porch lights blinked, the gates swung wide

And little footsteps went inside

were princesses with a crown

Superheroes, even clowns

They tapped the door, it creaked open wide

A warm red glow drew them

The paperback swung bright and sweet

With chocolate bars and sugar treats

The door shut hard, the hinges groaned

The floors creaked and they moaned

One candle died, then two, then three

The hallway stretched where none could see

A wet dog trail crossed every board

As hidden spectres from walls poured

Trick or treat, the night keeps score

They cross the sill, come back no more

The floors run dark beneath their feet

The ghosts take children, bags and sweets

From shuttered rooms, the lost ones cry

Help me, help me, with no reply

The evil ones eat candy, breath and name

No child walks out the

A velvet mask slipped from a vase

A shape unstitched itself from space

It seized the sweet, it seized the child

While rafters shook with laughter wild

The windows fogged, the curtains flared

A thousand eyes watched from the stairs

The

heard muffled moans

Then silence settled like a stone

A dragging scrape, a splintered chair

A pleading voice climbed up the stairs

Help me, help me, thin and weak

Then came a howl from within

Rick or treat, the night keeps score

They cross the sill, come back no more

The floors run dark beneath their feet

The ghosts take children, bags and sweets

From shuttered rooms, the lost ones cry

me, help me, but no reply

The evil ones eat candy, breath and name

New child walks out the way they came

The parents searched on every block

And pounded doors around the clock

Each house stood still, secrets held fast

Houses fading into the past

As whispers seeped beneath the doors

Come find your own

Cackling once more, they heard the groans

The choking pleas, blood on their hands

The specters move behind the walls

They glide through cracks and candled halls

They savor the fear, they take the sweets

Leave bloody footprints as they retreat

No prayer can make the dead things cease

Their hungry hands will never release

The rafters pulse, the floorboards bend

The house consumes the

me, from the attic stands

Help me, fills the cellar air

A moan below, a scream above

They feast on fear, terror they love

One bag spills sweets across the floor

A shadow stoops and asks for

At dawn, the door swung open wide

The town came in with torches high

No broken glass, no trace of flight

Just empty bags in morning light

red-brown stain marked every stare

And candy wrappers lay here and there

The children's names were carved in wood

The house stood smiling where it stood

The rise eyes on a new day made the

concrete, the night kept score

They crossed the citadel, came back no more

The floors ran dark beneath their feet

Ghosts took the children, bags and sweets

From shuttered rooms, their voices cried

Help me, help me, with no reply

The house kept every breath and name

No

bells ring clear

The haunted doors will open near

A little knock, a candle's gleam

A paper bag, a swallowed scream

The moon hangs low